The Washington Capitals will start Phillip Grubauer in net tomorrow for game one of their playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
This is an interesting move.
It's hard to argue with the logic - Grubauer has been way better than Holtby for a while now.
Grubauer is 2.35 with a .923 S%
Holtby is 2.99 with a .907 S%
Also, if you only look at numbers from the last quarter of the season, Grubauer has even better numbers.
It seems like you have to go with the hot hand.
However, not only has Holtby been a great goalie for the Capitals, he's been among the best in the NHL for the last several years. He might not be playing well lately, but despite the numbers, he was really good in front of a really bad Capitals team for 75% of the season.
I just don't buy that a player as good as Holtby can suddenly lose his game completely, and I think recency bias is playing way too large a role in Trotz' decision making here.
I don't think anyone in the world actually believes that Grubauer is more talented than Holtby.
Unless Holtby is nursing an injury that has him at less than 100% I think the better move is to play the guy who is a core component of your franchise and, in all likelihood, the better goalie.
I understand that the Playoffs are short, that you can't afford to lose because of a bad goalie, but I think it's a big risk to sit Holtby. He's been so good, for so long.
Most teams struggle for years to find a goalie like Holtby. Then I again, I guess there's less risk in playing it safe and going with the hot hand.
It's a hard call, and the Caps playoff history doesn't help.
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